Easy English Texts

# 66- The story of Ruth part 1 (Old Testament)

Ruth is a story from the Old Testament

In the days when the Chieftains ruled . Chieftains ( were the heads of the tribes of an area  in Bethlehem - called Judah – Judah is the 4TH son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Leah)

There was a famine in the land and a man of Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons went to reside in the country of Moab. (Moab was an ancient city in Jordan near by the dead sea; the Moabites believed in many different Gods) the man's name was Elimelech his wife's name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion.

They came to the country of Moab and remain there.

Elimelech Naomi’s husband died, and she was left with her two sons. Her sons married Moabite women, one name Orpah and the other Ruth, and they lived there for about 10 years.

Then Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman was left without her two sons and without her husband.

she started out with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab; for in the country of Moab she had heard that the Lord had taken note of his people and given them food. Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law she left the place

where she had been living; and they set out on the road back to the land of Judah.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “turn back, each of you to her mother ‘s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you, have dealt with the dead and me! May the Lord grant that each of you find security in the House of a husband!” And she kissed them farewell. They broke into weeping and said to her, “No we will return with you to your people”

But Naomi replied, “Turn back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Have I any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you? Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be married. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I married tonight and I also was bore sons, should you wait for them to grow up? Should you on their account debar yourselves from marriages? Oh no, my daughters! my Lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the Lord has struck out against me.”

They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her. So Naomi said,” See, your sister- in-law has returned do her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law”. But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus, end more may the Lord to do me if anything but death parts me from you”. when Naomi saw how the determined she was to go with her, she ceased to argue with her; and the two went on until they reach Bethlehem.

She gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned and carry it back with her to the town. When her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and when she also took out and gave her what she had left over after eating her fill, her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? where did you work? blessed be he who took such generous notice of you!” So, she told her mother-in-law whom she had worked with, saying, “The name of the man with whom I work today is Boaz.”

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead! “ For,  Naomi explain to her daughter-in-law, “ the man is related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsman.(responsible for the well-being of the family) Ruth the Moabite said, he even told me, “stay close by my workers until all my harvest is finished.” And Naomi answered her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is best, daughter, that you go out with his girls, and not be annoyed in some other field.” So she stayed close to the maidservants of Boaz, and Gleaned until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were finished. Then she stayed at home with her mother-in-law.

Naomi her mother-in-law, said to her, “Daughter, I must seek a home for you, where you may be happy. Now there is our kinsman Boaz, whose girls you were close to. He will be winnowing barley (blowing air through grain to remove the husk) on the threshing floor ( it is a flat surface or floor where the farmer separated the grain) tonight. So bathe anoint yourself, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. But do not disclose yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he lies down, and go over and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what you are to do. She replied, “I will do everything you tell me.”

She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in- law had instructed her. Boaz ate, drank, and in a cheerful mood went to lie down besides the grain pile. Then she went over stealthily and uncovered his feet and laid down. In the middle of the night, the man gave a start and put back - there was a woman line on his feet!

Who are you? he asked. and she replied, “I am your handmaid Ruth” Spread your robe over your handmade, for your redeeming kinsman.”

He exclaimed, “Be blessed of the Lord, daughter! Your latest deed of loyalty is greater than the first, in that you have not turned to younger men, whether poor or rich. And now, daughter, have no fear. I will do in your behalf whatever you ask, for all the elders off my town.

Know what a fine woman you are. but while it is true, I am a redeeming kinsman, there is another redeemer closer than I. Stay for the night then in the morning, if he will act as a redeemer, good! let him redeem. but if he does not want to act as redeemer for you, I will do myself, as the Lord lives! lie down until morning.”

So, she lay at his feet until dawn. She rose before one person could distinguish another from the thought, “Let it not be known that the woman come to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Hold out the shawl you are wearing.” she held it while he measured out six measures of barley and he put it on her back.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city buzzed with excitement over them. The women said, “can this be Naomi?” “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. call me Mara, (Mara means bitter) for GOD made my life very bitter. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. How can you call me Naomi, when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, when God has brought misfortune upon me!” Thus, Naomi returns from the country of Moab; she returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband's side, a man of substance, of the family of Elimelech, His name was Boaz.

Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “I would like to go to the fields and Glean(gather leftover grain after harvest) among the ears of grain, behind someone who may show me kindness.” “Yes, daughter, go,” she replied, and off she went. she came and gleaned in a field, behind the reapers;( are people who harvest a crop) and, as luck would have it, it was the piece of land belong to Boaz, who was of Elimelech’s family.

Presently Boaz arrived from Bethlehem. He greeted the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they responded “The Lord bless you!” Boaz said to the servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose girl is that?” The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is a Moabite girl who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, “please let me glean and gather among the sheaves ( are a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping)  behind the reapers.” she has been on her feet since she came this morning “she has rested but little in the hut.”

Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen to me, daughter. Don't go to Glean in another field. Don't go elsewhere but stay here close to my girls. keep your eyes on the field they are ripping and follow them. I have ordered the men not to molest you. And when you are thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the water that the men have drawn.”

She prostrated herself with her face to the ground, and said to him, “why are you so kind as to single me out, when I am a foreigner?”

Boaz said in reply, “I have been told of all that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had to know before. May the Lord reward your deeds, may you have a full recompense from the Lord the God of Israel, under whose wings you have sought refuge!”

She answered, “You are most kind, my Lord, to comfort me and to speak gently to your maidservant -though I am not so much as one of your maidservants.”

At mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come over here and partake of the meal, and dip your morsel (small piece of food) in the vinegar. “So, she sat down beside the reapers. He handed her roasted grain, and she ate her fill and had some leftover.

When she got up again to glean, Boaz gave order to his workers, “You are not only to let her glean among the sheaves, without interference, but you must also pull some stalks out of the heaps end leave then for her to glean, and not scold her.”

When she got back to the town, she came to her mother-in-law, who asked, “How is it you my daughter ?” She told her all that the man had done for her; and she added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying to me, “Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty handed.” And Naomi said stay here, daughter, till you learn how the matter turns out. For the men will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

Meanwhile, Boaz  had gone to the gate and sat down there. And now the redeemer whom Boaz had mentioned passed by. He called, “Come over and sit down here, so-and-so!” And he came over and sat down. Then Boaz took 10 elders of the town and said,” Be seated here”: and they sat down.

He said to the redeemer, “Naomi , now  return from the country of Moab, must sell the piece of land which belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. I thought I should disclose the matter to you and say: Acquire it in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you are willing to redeem it, redeem! But if you will not redeem, tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem but you, and I come after you.” “ I am willing to redeem it,” He replied. Boaz continued, “When you acquired the property from Naomi and from Ruth  the Moabite, you must also acquire the wife of the deceased ,so as to perpetuate the name of the deceased upon his state.” The redeemer reply, “Then I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own estate. You take over my right of redemption for I am unable to exercise it.”

Now this was formally done in Israel in cases of redemption for exchange: to validate any transaction, one man would take off his sandals and hand it to the other. Such as the practice in Israel. So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Acquire for yourself, he drew off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and to the rest of the people, you are you witness today that I am acquiring from Naomi  all that belong to Elimelech and all that belong to Chilion and Mahlon and I am also Acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, so as to perpetuate the name of the deceased upon his estate, that the name of the deceased may not disappear from among his kinsmen and from the gate of his hometown.  you are witness today.”

All the people at the gate and the elders answered, “We are. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel !prosper in Bethlehem and perpetuate your name in Bethlehem! And may your house be like the House of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah- through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

So Boaz married Ruth; she became his wife, and he cohabitate with her the Lord let her.  The Lord let her conceive, and she bore a son .And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not withheld a redeemer from you today ! May his name be perpetuated in Israel! He will renew your life and sustain your old age; for his born of your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”

Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. She became its foster mother, and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi!” they named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.

This is the line of Perez: Perez begot Hezron,  Hezron bigot Ram, Ram bigot Amminadab, Amminadab bigot Nahshon, Nahshon bigot Salmon, Salmon begot Boaz, Boaz Begot Obed, Obed begot Jesse, Jesse begot David

Ruth is the great grandmother of the king David of Israel.

In the days when the Chieftains ruled . Chieftains ( were the heads of the tribes of an area  in Bethlehem - called Judah – Judah is the 4TH son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Leah)

There was a famine in the land and a man of Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons went to reside in the country of Moab. (Moab was an ancient city in Jordan near by the dead sea; the Moabites believed in many different Gods) the man's name was Elimelech his wife's name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion.

They came to the country of Moab and remain there.

Elimelech Naomi’s husband died, and she was left with her two sons. Her sons married Moabite women, one name Orpah and the other Ruth, and they lived there for about 10 years.

Then Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman was left without her two sons and without her husband.

she started out with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab; for in the country of Moab she had heard that the Lord had taken note of his people and given them food. Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law she left the place

where she had been living; and they set out on the road back to the land of Judah.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “turn back, each of you to her mother ‘s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you, have dealt with the dead and me! May the Lord grant that each of you find security in the House of a husband!” And she kissed them farewell. They broke into weeping and said to her, “No we will return with you to your people”

But Naomi replied, “Turn back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Have I any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you? Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be married. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I married tonight and I also was bore sons, should you wait for them to grow up? Should you on their account debar yourselves from marriages? Oh no, my daughters! my Lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the Lord has struck out against me.”

They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her. So Naomi said,” See, your sister- in-law has returned do her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law”. But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus, end more may the Lord to do me if anything but death parts me from you”. when Naomi saw how the determined she was to go with her, she ceased to argue with her; and the two went on until they reach Bethlehem.

Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 and died in 1274, he was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323 and became Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Saint Thomas was from Roccasecca near Naples-Italy. He was the seventh and youngest child of a wealth and very influential family.

Against the wishes of his family at the age of nineteen, Thomas decided to join the Dominican Order, which had been founded only about 30 years earlier: the members of the new order were inspired to develop a "mixed" spirituality. The order was both active in preaching, and contemplative in study, prayer, and meditation.

Thomas Aquinas attends the university of Naples and there he was introduced to the teachings of Aristotle, Averroes, and Maimonides.

In 1252 at the College of St. James in Paris, Thomas started a teaching career to which was to involve him in every great intellectual conflict of the time. Beginning as a bachelor, he lectured upon the Scriptures and the basic theological textbook of the day. He enjoys great popularity as a teacher. One of his students later recorded that: Thomas introduced new articles into his lectures, founded a new and clear method of scientific investigation and synthesis, and developed new proofs in his argumentation; although the university required that a master in theology be at least thirty-four years old, Thomas, after a papal dispensation, was given his degree in 1256, when little more than thirty-one years old, and he was  appointed to fill one of the two chairs allowed to Dominicans at the university.

In1272 Thomas was recalled to Naples by his superiors to reorganize all the theological courses of his order. There at the university he lectures on the Psalms, and St. Paul, commented on Aristotle’s, and worked on the third part of the Summa.

(Summa Theologica) or Summary of Theology, often referred to simply as the Summa, which is the best-known work of Saint Thomas Aquinas, with more than 3 thousand pages It is a compendium of all the main theological teachings of the Catholic Church.

Today the Summa is used as a guide for theology students, including seminarians and priests. The Summa shows the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology topics with a cycle that start with: God, Creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God.

From the Summa first part II - the existence of God. Thomas Aquinas refers to Augustine who said: “since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil.”  St. Thomas replies this is part of the infinity goodness of God, that He should allow evil to exist and out of it produce good.

Aquinas five statements about the divine qualities:

God is simple, without composition of parts, such as body and soul, or matter and form.

God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from other beings on account of God's complete actuality.

God is infinite. That is, God is not finite in the ways that created beings are physically, intellectually, and emotionally limited. This infinity is to be distinguished from infinity of size and infinity of number.

God is immutable, incapable of change on the levels of God's essence and character.

God is one, without diversification within God's self. The unity of God is such that God's essence is the same as God's existence.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, Averroes, and Maimonides are among the greatest religious philosophers of the Middle Ages.

Jack London

Jack London is known as a writer, journalist and a proud socialist.

He was born - John Griffith Chaney, on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco California, in the United States. He died November 22 1916, in Glen Ellen, California.

He grew up in a working-class area in the city of Oakland, California. While very young, he observed the inequalities in American society and the struggles of the poor.

He was internationally famous for his books -The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea Wolf (1904) and other literary and journalistic accomplishments. He wrote passionately about the great questions of life and death and the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity.

His stories of high adventure were based on his own experiences at sea, in the Yukon Territory, and in the fields and factories of California. His writings appealed to millions worldwide.

As a schoolboy, London often studied at Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, which was a port-side bar in  the city of Oakland, California. At 17, he confessed to the bar's owner, John Heinold, his desire to attend university and pursue a career as a writer. Heinold lent London tuition money to attend college.

London desperately wanted to attend the University of California in Berkeley. In 1896, after a summer of intense studying to pass certification exams, he was admitted. Financial circumstances forced him to leave in 1897, and he never graduated.

While at Berkeley, London continued to study and spend time at Heinold's saloon, where he was introduced to the sailors and adventurers who would influence his writings.

Today in the year of 2021, tourists enjoy Jack London Square, which is an entertainment and business destination on the waterfront of Oakland, California,named after Jack London, and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, an Amtrak station, a San Francisco Bay Ferry dock, and the historic Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon.

Paul Frederic Simon was born on October 13, 1941.He is a Singer-songwriter and an iconic figure in American rock music. As a singer-songwriter known for his cerebral composition, it is not a surprise that Simon's mother, Belle, was an English teacher and his father, Louis, was both a teacher and a bandleader.

Paul Simon is also known for his work as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, and for his long-running success as a solo artist.

In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music, which sold 14 million copies worldwide and remains his most popular solo work.

in 2006, Paul Simon was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time magazine.

Composition from the album Graceland

      You can call me Al

A man walks down the street  -- 

He says, "Why am I soft in the middle, now? - -

Why am I soft in the middle? -- 

The rest of my life is so hard --

I need a photo-opportunity --

I want a shot at redemption --

Don't want to end up a cartoon --

In a cartoon graveyard --

Bonedigger, Bonedigger Dogs in the moonlight --

Far away in my well-lit door --

Mr. Beerbelly,  Beerbelly Get these mutts away from me --

You know, I don't find this stuff amusing anymore --

If you'll be my bodyguard -- 

I can be your long lost pal --

I can call you Betty --

And Betty, when you call me, you can call me A --l

A man walks down the street --

He says, "Why am I short of attention? --

Got a short little span of attention --

And, whoa, my nights are so long --

Where's my wife and family? --

What if I die here? --

Who'll be my role model --

Now that my role model is gone, gone?  --

He ducked back down the alley --

With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl --

All along, along --

There were incidents and accidents --

There were hints and allegations --

If you'll be my bodyguard --

I can be your long lost pal --

I can call you Betty --

And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al --

A man walks down the street --

It's a street in a strange world --

Maybe it's the third world --

Maybe it's his first time around --

Doesn't speak the language --

He holds no currency --

He is a foreign man --

He is surrounded by the sound, the sound --

Cattle in the marketplace --

Scatterlings and orphanages --

He looks around, around --

He sees angels in the architecture --

Spinning in infinity --

He says, "Amen and Hallelujah!" --

If you'll be my bodyguard --

I can be your long lost pal --

I can call you Betty --

And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al --

call me Al --

Na na na na, na na na na  --

Na na na na, na na na-na na-na  --

Na na na na, na-na na-na na na --

Na na na na, na na na na --

If you'll be my bodyguard --

bodyguard Betty --

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

Most English-speakers on New Year’s Eve sing a song called "Auld Lang Syne" which is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in 1796.

Burns transcribed it (and made some refinements to the lyrics) after he heard it sung by an old man in Scotland, Burns’ homeland.

It is often said that "Auld Lang Syne" is one of the most popular songs that nobody knows the lyrics to. "Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."

The song asks whether old friends and times will be forgotten and promises to remember people of the past with fondness - "For auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet."

The lesser-known verses written in Scots language, continue this theme, lamenting how friends who once used to

(run about the hills and pulled up daisies)

(paddled in the stream from morning to dusk)

(have become divided by time, distance, and seas)

(Yet there is always time for old friends to get together, if not in person then in memory and have a “good-will drink”)

But it was Guy Lombardo, and not Robert Burns, who popularized the song and turned it into a New Year's tradition. Lombardo first heard "Auld Lang Syne" in his hometown, Ontario, where it was sung by Scottish immigrants.

The famous dance band, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, played the song at midnight in 1929 in New York City at a New Year's eve party, the song became a New Year's tradition since .

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne

For auld lang syne my dear

For auld lang syne

We will take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne

We two have run about the hills

And pulled the daisies fine

But we ‘ve wandered many a weary foot

Since auld lang syne

1- On the first day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

2- On the second day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

3- On the third day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

4- On the fourth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

5- On the fifth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

6- On the sixth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

7- On the seventh day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

8- On the eighth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

9- On the ninth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

10- On the tenth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

11- On the eleventh day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

12- On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_SnsgP2ZpA